With integrated circuit boards there frequently exists a need to provide electrical connectors so that additional circuitry may be added in the future. For example, computer manufacturers frequently provide connections for additional memory boards or co-processors. Electrical sockets are a typical means of providing expandability.
Several prior electrical sockets exist for use in integrated circuit applications. In some applications, an integrated circuit is plugged directly into a socket. In other applications, a chip carrier connector plug carrying an integrated circuit board is plugged into a socket. One commonly available and well-known chip carrier plug is a plastic leaded chip carrier connector (PLCC) plug. A PLCC plug includes a plurality of electrical contacts, which may be plugged into a compatible socket.
PLCC plugs can suffer from several drawbacks. One common prior plug has straight contacts, as can be seen in FIG. 7. During insertion of the plug into the socket, the plug contacts can drive socket contacts beyond their elastic point. This phenomena is called overdrive. As a result of overdrive, electrical connections between the socket and the plug may be marginal, resulting in significant operational problems. Even in the absence of overdrive, electrical connections between the PLCC plug and the socket are less than ideal. Because the plug contacts are straight, the area of contact between the plug and the socket is a small diameter circle or point, as can be seen in FIG. 7. This small contact area creates a small electrical connection and results in impedance and reliability problems. Additionally, the straight contacts of the PLCC plug tend to cause it to vibrate out of the socket over time because the plug is held in place by the elastic action of the electrical contacts on the socket. For this reason, use of the straight contact plug is typically limited to testing operations of relatively short duration. Another drawback to the prior connector plug is its large size, which requires an excessively large area on a circuit board. The height of the prior plug may also render it unsuitable in some circuit board applications because of clearance problems in the circuit board card cage.
Thus, a better surface mount multiple pin connector plug for use on circuit boards or with integrated circuits is needed.